Cookery school that helps you beat Jamie Oliver to the 30-minute meal

It was Jamie Oliver's latest challenge for would-be chefs - how to make a meal in 30 minutes.

But many people who tried recipes from his new book and Channel 4 show rounded on the Naked Chef to say they could not do it - and sometimes even took an hour over the dishes.

Now, however, a West End cooking school claims to have come up with "real" half-hour recipes perfect for busy Londoners who want to eat well at the end of a long day.

The classes at L'atelier des Chefs, in Marylebone, use "affordable" supermarket ingredients to create dishes such as honey-glazed duck breast with stir-fried Chinese cabbage and spiced plum sauce, or salmon brochettes with saffron couscous and cumin-spiced salsa. They run during lunch hour, with 30 minutes' cooking time and the rest given over for students to enjoy the fruits of their labour.

General manager Marie Clarke said: "It's slightly unrealistic for people to cook two-three courses in an evening when they get home from work, but the half-hour recipes for a main course you can definitely do in half an hour.

"A lot of people buy lots of cookbooks but don't use them. We are about giving people confidence to get them cooking again."

The firm was founded in Paris six years ago by brothers François and Nicolas Bergerault. The school in Wigmore Street is their first in England but they plan to expand.

Chef Satyajit Welaratne, who teaches the Cook, Eat and Run class, has worked at The Ebury in Chelsea and Hartwell House, Buckinghamshire. He said: "People love it. After 10 hours in an office nobody wants to spend hours in the kitchen, they look in the fridge and see what's there. This helps people to know what to do with a few ingredients."

Student Pippa Wynne-Ellis, 55, a retail manager from Gerrards Cross said: "I've definitely learned things, like how to use a knife properly and what order to cook things in. It was fun."

Noon Pre-heat the oven to 200C. Cook the potatoes in salted water. Bring them to the boil, then simmer.12.03 Finely slice the spring onions and roughly chop the parsley.12.05 Finely slice the mushrooms, dice the shallots and garlic.12.10 When the potatoes are cooked, drain and crush with a fork. Add the spring onions, butter and half of the parsley and mix to a rough mash. Keep warm.12.12 Season the pheasant breasts.12.15 Heat a frying pan. Add a splash of sunflower oil and cook the pheasant breasts skin side down. When golden brown, transfer to the oven for eight to 12 minutes or until the pheasant is just cooked through. It should be served slightly pink.12.18 While the pheasant is cooking, heat a saucepan and add a splash of sunflower oil. Fry the mushrooms, add the shallots and garlic and cook for a further minute. Deglaze the pan with madeira and reduce it by half. Add the double cream and bring to the boil. Finish with half of the chopped parsley and the truffle oil.12.29 To serve: fill a stainless steel ring with the champ potatoes, place the pheasant on top and drizzle the mushroom sauce.